Thought for the week, 28 January 2018

By Rachel Barwell

Before coming to Honduras, I wasn't aware of just how important religion is here. Jesus is at the centre of almost everyone's thoughts and actions and everything is attributed to God. We recently saw in the New Year with a Honduran family and everyone stood in a circle, holding hands and listening to the mother of the family praying. Each morning in school, the teachers also hold hands and stand in a circle, praying in preparation for the day ahead. Religion is at the forefront of the children's minds too. If a student says something which the others doubt, the children will challenge him/her with: 'Adelante de Dios?' (Before God?). At times, the intensity can feel a little overwhelming. In Church, when praying and singing, everyone raises their hands in praise to God. When not in Church, many Hondurans will listen to Spanish Christian songs, which are very different to our hymns and anthems but I love them. Several people have told me that however good a person you are, it means nothing if you don't have Christ in your life. I find this difficult as I have always believed that your character is the most important thing, regardless of your religious beliefs.

Hondurans strive to follow the teachings of Jesus and to put into practice their Christian values. One of the many ways in which they do this is by showing remarkable generosity. It is very humbling for me to be on the receiving end of such warm generosity and to see those who have very little willingly open their hearts and homes to a stranger.